Some five-star hotels are all-guns-blazing affairs: immaculate service, supremely stylish décor, spotless cleanliness, peerless comfort. Others? Well, others aren’t. Some AA-awarded five-star hotels get a top-tier rating by simply doing all the basics really, really well. Sort of technical, no-frills five-star hotels, if you will.
Where does the brand-new Hyatt Regency Blackfriars fit with all that? It’s somewhere between the two, but mostly falls into the latter category. You get the feeling here that the comfort is well-honed, that it’s part of a formula thoroughly, thoroughly tried and tested. And that’s because it is: it’s a Hyatt Regency hotel, meaning that it’s one of American hotel giant Hyatt’s signature outposts.
Looking at Hyatt Regency Blackfriars functionally, there’s very little it doesn’t do. The rooms are spacious and bright with Scandi-ish décor that is a few notches swisher than Ikea. The beds are plush, the Chromecast-compatible TVs are big, the standards of cleanliness are decent, the curtains are marvellously blackout and the bathrooms are well-equipped. In the rooms, the closest you get to a bit of OTT luxury are the floor-level lights specifically designed to show you the way to the loo. Though those are, admittedly, pretty snazzy.
The flashiest part of Hyatt Regency Blackfriars is almost certainly the building itself, which is Grade II-listed and on the former grounds of Henry VIII’s Bridewell Palace. The location’s pretty unbeatable, too: in the City of London and on the riverside, it’s likely a good base for both businesspeople hustling in the Square Mile and tourists wanting to be within walking distance of major attractions like St Pauls and Bankside.
In all this, there are very few downsides, even if the upsides won’t blow your mind. But that’s to be expected, right? This is a Hyatt, after all. If you’re after unreal, boutique glamour from your hotel, London has plenty of that. If you’d rather stay in another outpost of a massive, global hotel chain offering reliable, calculated and yet unspectacular comfort, this’ll likely do just fine.
Neighbourhood
On the western edge of the City, Blackfriars is an ideal base from which to either venture into the Square Mile itself (St Paul’s is very close), over the river to the Tate Modern and Southbank or head into the West End. Blackfriars tube (Circle and District Lines) is just a few steps away, while City Thameslink is close (though only open on weekdays).
Nearby
- St Paul’s Cathedral: A London landmark and architectural marvel.
- The OXO Tower: An iconic building with a beloved restaurant at the top. Also a brill spot for afternoon tea.
- Doggett’s Coat & Badge: A distinctive, slightly odd-looking multi-storey pub on the Thames that sits just on the other side of Blackfriars Bridge. Named after the Doggett’s Coat & Badge race, the longest continuous rowing race in the world.
Time Out tip: Check out bistro NYnLON downstairs, which fuses London and New York cuisine into a unapologetically huge (in size and taste) mix of the two mega-metropolises.
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The City of London area guide.
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The best restaurants in the City of London.
